dave_sid

What do you mean some reason? He wrote the book Refactoring that caused everyone to start refactoring. That’s quite a big reason. He literally wrote the book on it.

How do you feel about MC Hammer?

Didn’t he invent refactoring? Something that every developer in the world uses every day? Don’t think he’s a bullshitter.

Probably. And probably hard for them to believe too.

Google ads are a con. Meta ads are a con. If someone tells you you’re just not doing it right yet, they’re probably trying to sell you something.

Shopify should deal with their hijacked accounts first. A high percentage of sponsored Google search sponsored results lead to scams on hijacked sites.

I wish developers could just walk out the door en masse tomorrow and let orgs replace them all with AI as has been touted for so long, then see what happens. It gets boring trying to explain that developers don’t just write code. “What do they do then?” I can almost hear a manager saying in a smug tone. If you have to ask, you’ll never knowww… ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬

Same here. Got the same machine and feel the same as you about it.

Exactly. I think this is it. Clearly separate what must be perfect and well understood (security, business logic), from bits that you are happy to throw some code at and see if they work. And don’t let the latter get its hands on the former. I think going back to OOP principles and SRP/separation of concerns can make this work. Just some conscious planning needed rather than handing over the reins entirely.

I think c is the only way it can sustainably work. The idea of b, that software is running and nobody there knows how it works, doesn’t seem like a good foundation for a business to run on.

I have found what works well is to modularise the code as much as possible and get an agent to work within a very limited scope. Break everything down well using SRP with well defined interfaces and let the agent work on small problems. Then when it shits the bed, there’s a smaller blast radius and you can strip back and try again.

I think seasoned developers, over time, learn how to work a code base and design components with well defined interfaces, where the implementation is isolated in small well contained classes. SRP etc. more junior programmers can work on those smaller components/services in isolation.

For me this also seems to be a productive way to work along side an agent. Break up functionally into well defined chunks, and let the agent work on each small problem. Take more of a lead in the architecture I suppose.

Donald?

It will soon be easy is all content will be AI-generated content. Or it will just implode at that point.

Coding is just a small part of a modern software engineers job. And some may think it isn’t the hardest part.

“The best code is the code you didn’t have to write” - a wise coder

Just a joke. Was self deprecating.

I’m quite sure they are not offended by these HN comments. They probably think we are all nerds.

It’s more than that. Anything like this that takes me away from constantly checking my phone, and can be glanced at by the whole family is better.

You just don’t get it but that’s fine. I get it. If the price was more affordable I’d have one on my hall asap.

This is great. Always wondered why this didn’t already exist.

Interesting article.

Linkedin is the sleaziest thing I’ve seen on the internet since it was invented. The sight of it makes my skin crawl. The way they have desperately tried to onboard you via data that they seem to have that they shouldn’t. The way users even present themselves, posting updates that probably make them want to vomit themselves and shower in disgust even tho it’s not their fault, we need to find work. The bloody badge that you have to wear on your forehead to say you are available for work. The thought of the money they are raking in from recruiters and corporations. The way they try to be a little bit more like Facebook to make it look a little more ‘fun’. I hate it.

Well they made it. They conquered the recruitment scene and I can’t think of a company I’d wish had gone out of business sooner.

Am I wrong?

Exactly. Software development is 20% of what your average software developer does. Figuring out what to build is a skill some don’t even realise they are doing every day, and it’s an incredibly valuable skill.

I think what is left is that understanding pain points and knowing what problems needs solved is more important now than ever. If anyone can create a product now then the one who knows what product to actually create is the winner. And who might this be? Well it might just be the people who spent the last 10 years speaking to customers, building a SaaS. They have 10 years of taking to customers finding out what to build. Even if they were to start from scratch today they already have the requirements in their pocket.

The game has change. The ‘how’ we build it is easy. The ‘what’ we build is and always has been the hardest part of any SaaS or business.

They’re probably spending all their time on Teams calls like everyone else.

Think you need to work on your use of AI and not just copy paste 10000 lines and hope for the best.

No you didn’t. You lead a team of gardeners to develop your grand vision. Or you directed an epic movie leading a cast of talented actors bringing your vision to life. You can choose an empowering analogy or a negative one it’s your choice.

Great post. Good to see someone posting something positive for a change about the shift in development.

I’ll keep a close eye out for it.

Glad I don’t use it.